Zimbabwe News Update
zifmstereo
2 min read
Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector is reeling under severe financial access constraints that continue to choke productivity and limit investment, as farmers struggle with high interest rates, collateral demands, and weak institutional coordination. The crisis has left the sector desperate for new solutions to restore confidence and unlock the flow of credit across rural communities. Speaking at the ongoingannual financial inclusion conference in the capital harare,agricultural economistignatius govere, who represents therural and agricultural finance thematic working group (twg), said financing hurdles and coordination challenges remain the biggest bottlenecks to the sector’s growth. “the one that we’re putting on the top is coordinating and participating challenges,” govere said.
“not that we are criticizing the previous national financial inclusion strategy 1 (nfis1) program, but we are highlighting these challenges so that we can provide solutions for nfis2.” govere lamented persistent weaknesses in participation, feedback, and policy implementation, which have left most rural farmers excluded from mainstream financial systems. “poor attendance, inconsistent participation, and weak feedback mechanisms are just a few of the hurdles we face,” he noted, calling for a more inclusive and participatory approach. But it is the lack of affordable finance that remains the sector’s most urgent concern.
Govere said farmers are struggling to access capital due tohigh lending rates, prohibitive transaction costs, and tough collateral requirements, which have eroded confidence and slowed agricultural investment. Govere added that without deliberate intervention to expand affordable credit and lower costs, many farmers will continue to rely on informal borrowing, undermining efforts to build a structured, competitive agricultural economy. To overcome these hurdles, govere urged the government and financial institutions to adoptdigital and ai-driven solutionsto improve access, transparency, and data management within the sector. “we need to expand the use of digital ai platforms to come up with profiling—for example, access management and so on,” he said.
“we need more integration of mobile-based tools. It’s certainly a new thing in the system, and there is very little awareness about these tools.” “this will help to mitigate climate shocks, because climate change is here, and farmers are being affected,” govere said. “so this will be an innovative solution that should integrate this.” he emphasized the need forinstitutional collaborationto ensure policy coherence and stronger linkages between government, the private sector, and civil society. Source: zifm stereo
